History of Music in Comoros

The Comoros (Guzur al- Qimur/ Qamar), which is officially the union of the Comoros, is a sovereign archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, it is located at the northern end of the Mozambique channel off the eastern coast of Africa which is between the north eastern Mozambique and the north-western Madagascar, other countries near the Comoros include Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast and its capital is called Moroni on Grande Comore.

source of picture: vimeo.com

At 1862 kilometre square (719sq mi), excluding the contested island of the Mayotte, the Comoros is the third smallest African nation by measurement. The populace exclude the Mayotte, which estimated about 780,000, the name Comoros came from the Arabic world qamar (which mean moon).

As a nation it is formed at a crossroads of several civilizations, the archipelago is noted got its different cultures and history. The union of the Comoros has three main official languages which include the Comorian, Arabic and the French although; the French is their sole official language in Mayotte.

Officially, the addition of many smaller islands, the country is made up of four major islands in the volcanic Comoros archipelago: north western most Grand Comore (Ngazidja); Moheli (Mwali); Anjouan (Nzwani); and the southeastern most Mayotte (Maore). The Mayotte, however, has never been controlled by the France (recently as an overseas department) as it is the only island in the archipelago that voted against the independence in the year 1974. France has since banned Union Nations Security Council resolutions that’s would sustain the Comorain sovereignty over the island, also a referendum on the question of Mayotte becoming an overseas department in France in the year 2011 which was held on 29 March 2009 and passed awesomely.

The Comoros is the only state that the member are of all the following; the African Union, Francophonie, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League (which is the southernmost state, which is being the only member of the Arab League which is the whole southern hemisphere) and the Indian Ocean Commission since their independence in the year 1975, and the country has experience many coups detat and also as of 2008 about half of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25  per day.

Comoros is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, that have independent nation but also including the French territory of Mayotte. This historically joined both the East Africa and France, and now has a strong Malagasy power. Zanzibar’s tarrab music, however, the rest of the most powerful genre on the islands, and a Comorian version that is known as twarab which is famous, the leading twarab groups which include Sambeco and Belle Lumiere, as well as star composer Mohammed Hassan. Comorian instruments which include the ud and violin, the most current accompaniment for twarab, as well as gabusi (a type of flute) and ndzendze. The Saga music came from Mauritius and Reunion is also well-known.

The current musician include Abou Chihabi, who composed the Comorian national anthem and who is also known for his reggae-tinged pan-African variet music, reggae/zouk/soukous fusionists such as Maalesh and Salim Ali Amir, Nawal, Diho, singer-songwriters and instrumentalists.